An 'Unacceptable Situation' Says the Man in Charge

---

Cllr Bassam Mahfouz apologises for the rubbish

On behalf of the council, I would like to apologise to anybody who has not had their rubbish or recycling collected this week.

As an administration we do not find the current situation acceptable. Ahead of implementation of the new contract I made it clear and unequivocal to our new contractors that the expectation of both ourselves and our residents is that there should be “service as usual”.

The council is holding daily meetings with Enterprise to ensure that these teething problems are ironed out and in the meantime all rubbish and recycling must be collected.

We now have 16 extra crews to seek to ensure this happens, working into the evenings on collections and street cleaning. The teams will also be working Friday and Saturday to get back to speed with the job at hand. We have also placed additional staff onto the phones to ensure we have accurate information for the streets that have not had the level of service expected.

I appreciate the time and effort each individual has made to inform us of which streets have not had refuse and recycling collected. We are grateful for the patience and understanding that you have shown during these initial days. I have cycled around many parts of the borough to check roads and officers have been out to monitor the situation too. Whilst many areas have had their rubbish and recycling collected, I appreciate the frustration that anyone who has not had their items collected will feel. It is the not knowing when it will be collected that is perhaps most frustrating and we are working hard with Enterprise to ensure that this is put right as quickly as possible.

I have made it clear to our new contractors that one of this council’s top priorities is to Make Ealing Cleaner. This is in the context of record breaking scores for street cleanliness showing 2011-12 as the best on record for clean streets in Ealing. I am fully aware that it is no good having a record if this is not maintained and indeed improved upon and it is therefore an absolute priority that this contract is successful.

Please do continue to call on 020 8825 6000 or let us know online via http://www.ealing.gov.uk/recycling of any missed collections so that we can seek to ensure this is rectified as soon as possible.

Cllr Bassam Mahfouz

5th April 2012